Journal of Psychiatry

Individual and population level estimates of work loss and related economic costs due to mental and substance use disorders in Metropolitan Sao Paulo, Brazil

Annual World Congress on Psychiatry

November 29, 2021 | Webinar

Mariane Henriques Franca

Federal University of Espirito Santo, Brazil

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychiatry

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: Mental disorders and substance abuse are known causes of work loss, but little information is available on the related global economic costs. Aims: We estimate work loss and economic costs due to mental and substance use disorders in the economically active population of the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil. Methods: The São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey assessed a population-based sample of 3,007 economically active residents using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2 to investigate, respectively, 12-month psychiatric disorders, work performance, and economic costs. Findings: Absenteeism over the past 12 months was reported by 12.6%, and presenteeism by 14.7% (qualitative loss) and 13.1% (quantitative loss). Having any mental disorder was associated with 17.6 days of absenteeism and 37.7 days of reduced-qualitative and/or quantitative functioning. Fourteen mental disorders were significantly associated with work loss, with odds ratios ranging from 2.3 for adult separation anxiety to 40.4 for oppositional defiant disorder. At a populationlevel, oppositional defiant disorder, panic disorder, attention deficit disorder, and dysthymia contributed to the largest costs. The total annual economic costs were USD $83.2 billion/year, representing 6.1% of Brazil's Gross Domestic Product in 2007. Conclusion & Significance: Mental disorders impose a great negative impact on work performance and functioning, with a consequent high economic burden, pointing to the need of implementing cost-effective interventions to prevent work loss.

Biography :

Mariane Franca is an Adjunct Visiting Lecture in the NDARC/UNSW, Sydney. She is a Ph.D. Candidate and completed a M.Sc. in Public Health at the UFES, Brazil. Her current research aims to provide data on patterns and predictors of failure and delay in making initial treatment contact after first onset; to examine barriers to initiation and continuation of mental health treatment, and to examine the factors associated with perceived helpfulness of MDD and AUD disorders. She also works analyzing the impact of mental and substances use disorders on work, specifically in employment status, mental health services, work loss (absenteeism and presenteeism), and economic costs examining data from World Mental Health Survey in Sao Paulo Metropolitan area, Brazil.